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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why were the teens carrying the items out of the Simpson Street apartment building?

2. What did Smith see in Fireman Billy-o as he held the baby who died in the fire?

3. After years of "carrying death in my hands," what did Smith see firefighting as lacking?

4. For which radical group was the group of Park Avenue residents raising money in the magazine article read by Smith in Chapter 7?

5. Why did Fireman Jim Stack have to stay longer at the hospital after the Intervale Avenue fire in Chapter 10?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did contemplating the changing seasons make it easier for Smith to deal with the dangers of his job?

2. Why were some of the firefighters unwilling to help out at the department's occasional parties for neighborhood kids?

3. Why did Smith think it was useless to argue with the sneering youths hanging around a fireman's car in Chapter 10?

4. In what key way does Smith say the modern firefighting exams are different from those of the past?

5. How did the firefighters react to the call in Chapter 7 in which they tended to a man who almost overdosed on drugs?

6. How did Smith distinguish between acts of shoplifting and looting within poor neighborhoods?

7. How did Smith convince himself of the need to respond to all calls when he found himself getting fed up with the arson incidents?

8. How did the elementary student, Cynthia, approach her interview with Smith in Chapter 9?

9. What did Smith find most frustrating about the attack on the firefighters (the dropped garbage can) in Chapter 8?

10. Why did Smith view being a firemen as a sign of success when he was a child?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Most of the malicious false alarms in the engine company's neighborhood were pulled by young children. What did Smith believe was the proper punishment for these children? Did he believe that putting them away for awhile in a juvenile facility would teach them a lesson? Or, would exposure to other, possibly more violent, young people, backfire? How does society determine the proper punishment for a child and whether the child is old enough to be taught a lesson?

Essay Topic 2

Smith describes his reasons for living outside of the community in which he served. Do you think it is necessary for civil servants to live in the communities for which they work? Would Smith have been any more effective if he had lived in the South Bronx? Or, did his decision to seek a quieter life for his family make it easier for him to serve a needy community? In what ways could living amongst the people you serve make you a better servant? Do communities have a responsibility to make it easier for civil servants to live locally by, for instance, ensuring affordable housing?

Essay Topic 3

Smith discussed the need for the firefighters to pay for much of the equipment and supplies they needed for their jobs. Why do you think New York was reluctant to provide sufficient provisions for fire departments? How did the firefighters view this lack of support and what would they have liked to do about it?

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